As an employee, if you were given a chance to sell your skills on the global stage with a greater sense of autonomy, independence, and flexibility as compare to the traditional 9 to5 job, what would you prefer? As an employer, if you were given a chance to hire a potential candidate on-demand at your terms and conditions as compared to a permanent hire, what would you prefer? This is where Gig economy comes into picture. The days of ‘life-long’ careers within the same company, long-term stability of a signed job contract, guaranteed significance of the skills acquired in the college, and predictable work routines are long gone.
In this fast paced global economic era, there is a growing demand for independent talent who are autonomous and willing to sell their skillsets on the global market. There are multiple factors that are giving exponential rise to Gig economy than even before. Below are some of these factors that are fuelling the growth of Gig economy, which is considered as the new and burgeoning trend in the HR space.
Financial Freedom
According to a survey conducted on 6,247 Gig economy workers, 57% said they chose freelance path to earn more money. On an average, a freelance worker makes $60,000 a year, according to MBO partners. When a person works as a freelancer, he is not tied to incremental salary increases, or limited to how much you can make. Depending upon the industry, sky is the limit. And this is what fascinates most to the freelancers.
Do what you really passionate about
People work because it gives them the most important resource required to live i.e. Money. But how many people do the work which they really find fascinating; that is the million dollar question, and answer might be a fraction of the total workforce. This is another reason people get attracted towards freelancing, as it gives them an opportunity to do what they really find interesting and have a passion about.
Balanced Work Life
Gig workers have full control of their workload, they can pick and choose how much they can take on and where and when to work at their own convenience. One LinkedIn survey which was conducted on 10,000 workers revealed that more than 46% value working in such a fashion because it allows them to work on flexible timings. According to Forbes, more than 35% like the work life balance that Gig economy provides to its workers.
Full Control over Destiny
In a permanent job, employee works for some specific job role and are bound to work in the same domain if they want a greater hike or a better position. Whereas, gig worker have the liberty to change career track whenever they want. If a person wants to make some more money, want to try something new, or want be their own boss, then being a gig worker they can achieve these goals and have more control over what to do next. For a big dreamer who never gets satisfied with a traditional job, entering flexible workforce might be a refreshing change of pace.
Not only Employees but Employers also want Flexibility
In most part of the contemporary world, employers also now gracefully accept the option of contractual manpower due to variety of advantages that contract worker bring for an organization.
Skill based Hiring: Many jobs require a specialist only when there is a dire need of it, not all the 365 days a year. Then, why to spend extra money on a full time employee, is the burning question that arises in the mind of recruiters time to time. This is where gig workers fit into the picture more conveniently than a full time employee. When employers seek a gig worker, they often look for a specific skillset among candidates. Since a gig worker is not a full time employee and hired to complete specific project, chances of getting work done more efficiently, effectively and in timely manner always remains high.
Speedy Hiring and Onboarding Process: Conventional onboarding process many times takes weeks or even months. But individuals in the flexible workforce are expected to onboard much more rapidly and even seamlessly integrate their work with the team. Since companies hire gig workers for their expertise in the subject matter and there is a no commitment for a full time employment, workers do get hires from various platforms in a very speedy manner with fast onboarding process.
Past and the Future
While alternative work arrangement has been in the fashion for long but its usage has grown significantly over the past decade. The fraction of contingent employees in the labor force increased from 10% to 16% between 2005 and 2015, with alternative work arrangements accounting for all of the net growth in employment over the past decade.
The increased applications of disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence, robotics and automation will shape the future of global workforce and will significantly give rise to so-called gig economy. According to one survey, an estimated 7.6 million Americans will be regularly working as providers in the on-demand economy by 2020, more than doubling the current total of 3.2 million flexible taskforce. Gig economy is still at the nascent stage, according to research firm PwC, gig economy cover mere a 2% of the total recruitment market. But by 2020, gig economy will worth $63 billion globally.
